Anastasia Somoza, Disability Advocate and Speaker at the 2016 DNC

October 18, 2016

Hosted by Joyce Bender

Guest Information

Episode Description

Joyce welcomes disability advocate, Anastasia Somoza, speaker during the first night of the Democratic National Convention on July 26, 2016. Ms. Somoza gave the delegates and convention viewers a moving speech on Americans with disabilities. Miss Somoza was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and spastic quadriplegia from birth and uses a wheelchair. She has been an advocate for people with disabilities since the 1990’s. In 1993, she appeared at a town-hall meeting for kids and asked President Bill Clinton a question. From there, she interned for Hilary Clinton in her U.S. Senate Office and worked on Clinton’s 2000 campaign for the US Senate. Anastasia will share her story and passion as an advocate for people with disabilities, and the importance members of the disability community to vote and support Hilary Clinton for President of the United States.

Disability Matters

Tuesday at 11 AM Pacific Time on VoiceAmerica Variety Channel

Competitive employment and empowerment for people with disabilities is the emphasis of this show. Broadcast live and captioned in real-time for individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing, we discuss how people with disabilities can secure career opportunities, and how employers, organizations and individuals can support employment and empowerment of people with disabilities.

Joyce Bender

Joyce A. Bender is the CEO and president of Bender Consulting Services, Inc. Bender Consulting recruits and hires individuals with disabilities, across the United States and Canada for competitive career opportunities in the public and private sectors. In 1985, Joyce survived a life-threatening accident caused by a misdiagnosis of epilepsy. Due to her personal experience living with both epilepsy and a hearing disability, she founded Bender Consulting Services, Inc. in 1995.

Joyce is the past-chair of both the board of the American Association of People with Disabilities and the national Epilepsy Foundation. She has received awards from both the Bush and Clinton administrations.